Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Sara Pemberton is the owner of On Simplicity, a blog focused on having less and enjoying more. Her pieces have been featured on Get Rich Slowly, Dumb Little Man, and Simple Mom. In her non-blogging life, Sara is a library programming director, heading up services for adults and children (and on occasion, pets). In between writing and finding new ways for kids to make fantastic messes, Sara enjoys fluffy slippers and a good gin and tonic [and thus is obviously awesome.--ED.].

1. In the context of your work, which bits of minutiae matter most? With the micro-audiences that blogging caters to, it all feels a bit like minutiae at times, doesn't it? Of course, that's also the beauty of it. Even the tiniest idea or event can become an essay that reaches thousands of readers. Small comments also matter deeply to me. Having someone contribute an idea, an opinion, or a word of thanks changes the dynamic of a blog dramatically.

Of course, when I'm working with kids, that dynamic is completely flipped. In writing, the end result is what matters, regardless of how much I enjoyed creating it. With kids, the end result is how much you enjoy creating a project. That's the whole point: having fun in the process. It helps me keep things in perspective beautifully.

2. Which bits matter least?Without a doubt, the unwritten "rules" of any job or task. In the end, there are no rules. Trying to follow someone else's guidelines or standards can be maddening. As long as you're doing your best to provide what people need, the details can usually slide.

3. In the context of your life, what types of minutiae once seemed important, but have since fallen by the wayside? Why?Collecting things, having them for posterity, used to seem extremely important. From music to books to vintage Barbies, I wanted it all. Now, I try to get rid of as much as possible while still keeping what I really appreciate. The ethic of "the perfect is the enemy of the good" has really changed my outlook. Sure, I could have every single song I've ever heard, stored in alphabetical order on an external drive, or I could focus on the twenty percent of songs I love and not have to sort through a bunch of crap to get to them. The culture of access has helped, too. I don't have to own every rare bootleg cut as long I know where to access them.

4. What types of minutiae, if any, have you had to train yourself to pay closer attention to?People, if people can be called minutiae. I used to expect everyone to wear their hearts on their sleeves. (I know, it seems pretty silly now.) Now I try to make an effort to see what's beneath the surface instead of expecting people to tell me what they need.

5. Just for kicks -- what are your favorite bits of minutiae (personal, from a book, a piece of music, moment in a movie, etc.)?I'm totally obsessed with the back stories of songs and artists. Like in "Let's Get It On," there's a line at the end about being sanctified. That one throwaway line encompasses all of Marvin Gaye's duality, his lifelong struggle with sex and spirituality. I thrive on minutiae like that, the easter eggs of life that add depth and meaning to everyday experiences.

Hola Emma!I just read Sara's blog--there is simple wisdom, and a sort of purity about her, which is beautiful to see. (And, if she wants to declutter and simplify her life even further, may I suggest that she unload that gorgeous torquoise necklace and hand it immediately over to me!)

Clementina! You hit the nail right on the head--"a sort of purity" is exactly what goes through my mind when I read Sara's blog. (And hey, lady, you'll have to fight me for that necklace. After I talk her into "simplifying" it to me.)

Emma Alvarez Gibson

I write copy that hits just the right nerve--be it as simple as a bio or as intensive as a whole new campaign.

Some other things about me: in my quest to pack several lifetimes into one, I have: produced a zine, which sold at a big-name bookstore in West Hollywood; created an online magazine for teenage girls (Lulu Magazine, now defunct); started a theater company; written, produced and performed original theater; written, sung and recorded music with the band Agent Vertigo; and sold my handmade goods via my Etsy shop. I am married to the best man on the planet, with whom I share a delightful 3-year-old boy; I quite enjoy typography and gin; and harbor a fervent desire to a) speak every language in the world and b) move to New Zealand, despite my intense and disproportionately loyal love for the City of Angels.

In No Particular Order: Things To Do Before Shuffling Off

1. Own and live in a big house by the ocean2. Sing in a band3. Tend a prolific garden of my own4. Live in New Zealand5. Publish a novel or book of short stories6. Sing onstage with Neil Finn (preferably the song Nails In My Feet)7. Become fluent in French8. Learn conversational Japanese9. Make more money freelancing than working for The Man10. Visit Paris11. Own a Labrador (this requires owning a yard as well)12. Record music with a band13. Earn a degree in linguistics14. Send spiritual/emotional support regularly to people who are incarcerated for religious beliefs, as well as financial support to their families15. Get really good at practicing peace16. Learn to look my fear of my own anger in the face, and dismantle its power17. Return to Italy and England18. Visit Antarctica19. Hike regularly20. Meet Clint Eastwood21. Be a buyer for a store that sells amazing, beautiful, strange wonders22. Find the haircut that suits me best23. Find and marry a man who is handsome, clever, strong, sensitive, tough, independent, loving, kind, handy, a good cook and treats me like a queen24. Have the bulk of my diet be whole, healthy, organic foods25. Be free from diabetes26. Be free from headaches27. See some of the equipment from Ernest Shackleton's Antarctic voyages28. See (and touch!!) Frank Worsley's notes from the Endurance voyage29. Visit Ireland and sing a traditional song accompanied by musicians in a pub

The Best Parts.

"Given that we can only live a small part of what there is in us--what happens with the rest?" Night Train to Lisbon, Pascal Mercier

"Those who have an orphan's sense of history love history." Divisadero, Michael Ondaatje

"Was this what came from thoughts of time running out and death: that all of sudden you didn't know anymore what you wanted? That you didn't know your own will anymore? That you lost the obvious familiarity with your own wishes? And in this way became strange and a problem to yourself?" Night Train to Lisbon, Pascal Mercier

"Arriving at each new city, the traveler finds again a past of his that he did not know he had: the foreignness of what you no longer are or no longer possess lies in wait for you in foreign, unpossessed places." Invisible Cities, Italo Calvino

"He was thin, like some lost animal, some idea." Anil's Ghost, Michael Ondaatje

"There remained the big envelope. Katie opened it slowly. Inside was a beautiful pink satin heart with lace edges. She sucked in her breath and turned the card over. No name was signed. Who--? Katie stared around the room. And saw Edwin Jones just looking away, the tips of his ears bright pink, as pink as the satin heart. So! Katie John let out her breath. There was a silly prickling around her eyeballs, and she blinked her eyes quickly. No one gave satin hearts to tomboys." Depend on Katie John, Mary Calhoun

"My God, don't they know? This stuff is simulacra of simulacra. A diluted tincture of Ralph Lauren, who had himself diluted the glory days of Brooks Brothers, who themselves had stepped on the product of Jermyn Street and Savile Row, flavoring their ready-to-wear with liberal lashings of polo knit and regimental stripes. But Tommy surely is the null point, the black hole. There must be some Tommy Hilfiger event horizon, beyond which it is impossible to be more derivative, more removed from the source, more devoid of soul. Or so she hopes, and doesn't know, but suspects in her heart that this in fact is what accounts for his long ubiquity." Pattern Recognition, William Gibson

"This was sunstroke or dengue fever or malaria. When they got back to Colombo she would have tests done. 'It's the sun,' Sarath murmured. 'I'll buy you a bigger hat. I'll buy you a bigger hat. I'll buy you a bigger hat.'" Anil's Ghost, Michael Ondaatje

"To be able to part from something, he thought as the train started moving, you had to confront it in a way that created internal distance. You had to turn the unspoken, diffuse self-understanding it had wrapped around you into a clarity that showed what it meant to you. And that meant it had to congeal into something with distinct contours." Night Train to Lisbon, Pascal Mercier

"There is a great history of people being given the wrong book, at some key moment in their lives." Divisadero, Michael Ondaatje